Per Seyersted, in his biography on Chopin, noted that after her first two short stories "A Point at Issue!" and "Wiser than a God" had been published in 1889, editors told Chopin that her stories would continue to be published if she could create more traditional female characters. Luckily, Chopin did not listen. Over the next decade, her works would focus on women who struggled to break away from conventional standards. As a result, the public often found Chopin's work shocking. After the publication of her masterful novel The Awakening in 1899, in which Chopin made her boldest statement on the necessity for personal expression, public outrage eventually resulted in the end of her literary career.

During the ten years between the publication of her first short stories and her novel, Chopin earned a reputation as an important local writer. Her short story collections Bayou Folk, published in 1894, and A...